A medical crew is only as good as the quality of the equipment provided to them. The equipment allows us to have the same quality of care the patient would receive in an critical care unit at a top-notch hospital. Our aircraft are equipped with sophisticated advanced life support equipment on each flight. See Medical Equipment for more information

AirCARE1 utilizes a loading ramp for loading/unloading our patients. A loading ramp is a mechanical device that attaches directly to the stretcher system inside the aircraft. Additionally, our large cargo doors allow for ease of movement into the aircraft while the patient is being loaded and unloaded. We believe a loading ramp is a must for the safety of our patients, our modern loading system prevents any tipping, tilting, or wobbling during this critical process. See Medical Equipment for more information.

The patient is transported to and from the aircraft via ground ambulance, accompanied bedside-to-bedside by the AirCARE1 medical flight crew. AirCARE1 coordinates all ground transportation, including handling all the payment details for the different ground ambulance services. AirCARE1 communication specialists’ coordinators are trained in handling all these details, so the complete transition is as smooth as possible, including all payment details.

Our AirCARE1 medical crew will be with our patients from the bedside of the sending facility to their bedside of the receiving facility to ensure continues medical care during the entire transport. Our bedside to bedside service begins when the AirCARE1 flight team arrives at the departing medical facility, along with the ground ambulance crew, to pick up the patient. This ensures the patient is correctly assessed at the sending facility before transport. The flight crew will remain with the patient during the entire transport, including accompanying them to the [...]

Bedside-to-bedside service means medical personnel are with the patient from the sending medical facility, through the medical flight while providing medical care, to the receiving medical facility.

AirCARE1 provides rigorous initial training as well as monthly in-depth continuing education. AirCARE1 medical crew members receive specific training beyond that normally available to critical care providers. The medical crew has specific knowledge of flight physiology and the impact flight stressors have on the patient. They are also trained to handle any In-flight emergency, both related to those likely from the condition of the patient as well as those completely unanticipated. See Crew Experience for more information.

AirCARE1 hires and trains all our own employees. We invest in quality initial training as well as continuing training. See Crew Experience for more information.

Due to the nature of flying, it is important to have only the best and most qualified personnel on board to ensure the highest quality of patient care and safety. To ensure quality patient care, each crew member is hired based on specific skill sets: good communication skills, flexibility, the ability to think quickly on their feet, adaptation, innovation, and a critical care background. Each crew member has undergone a stringent interview process, including both reference and background checks. No ads are placed for hiring, it is by referral only.

The flight is staffed with two highly experienced pilots: a captain and a first officer, just like on a commercial airline flight. They each have an airline transport pilot (ATP) rating, which is the highest FAA pilot certification and receive annual recurrent simulator training. Our pilots have minimum of 3000 hours-which is above industry standards. We never use one pilot, as is used on some air ambulance flights. At least two medical crew members consisting of an experienced critical care nurse with a background in either ICU, CCU, ER, and [...]

As part of our commitment to overall patient well-being, small pets in cages can be flown in the aircraft depending on space available. We know that patient’s stress level can be greatly reduced when they can bring their small pet(s) on the flight with them.